The Sleeping Ashen Demon Beauty
by QueenByleth
Summary: (Blue Lions Sleeping Beauty AU) Byleth never woke after 5 years. She still slumbers, waiting for someone to come and wake her, be it her beloved class (and her beloved Lion Prince)... or the Empire, wanting the Professor who didn’t side with them. (Dimitri x F! Byleth)


**_AN: It has been over 10 years since I've written anything. No exaggeration, 10. Mind you, I've never been great at it, but the few times I have, I've enjoyed it greatly. So please, enjoy what I call the FE Three Houses Sleeping Beauty AU._**

_Summary: (Takes place in the Blue Lions Route) What would happen if Byleth didn't wake up after 5 years? What if she was found a mere day after the battle of Garreg Mach and hidden away? Who will find this sleeping maiden?_

_=_

Ugh, what was that feeling? She felt like She was hit by a ton of bricks... or maybe SHE hit a ton of bricks...? Who cares. Somehow, She felt sore. And sleepy. So very sleepy. Honestly, when didn't She? She was always, but... somehow She felt more sleepy. Maybe She could sleep a bit longer, I'm sure they could both use...

Oh, yes, how could she forget? How could She forget the poor, simple child, who needed Her constant guidance. How sad. Ugh, where was she? She could feel her, but the connection was weak and... how, how, HOW can She be feeling pain? She had no body of her own, and She had combined with the foolish girl. She should feel nothing... That very feeling caused Her to become aware of her surroundings. Very aware. Aware that She was in a very dark cavern, the only light source miles away above Her. No, not a cavern. The bottom of a canyon, with what looked like a rockslide that took place. She shivered, for it reminded Her of a tomb, and She had already spent an uncomfortable amount of time in one already. But how did She...? Oh yes, that's right, the young one ran, a lion prince screaming her name, as she ran towards a very Immaculate One and... oh, how foolish. How very foolish. How many times had She lectured this young one about NOT putting them in danger? She was the goddess in the equation! The very fact she hadn't killed herself yet was only by Her divine intervention, surely. Oh yes, when She found this foolish, no, COMPLETELY IGNORANT GIRL, she would get a most severe lashing-.

But wait... where is she? Surely she couldn't be far...

Oh. Oh no.

There she was, debris lightly covering her small frame. Her limbs were laying on the bigger rocks, splayed about as if someone discarded an old doll. Green, minty hair was covered in dust, and had light splashes of red in it. Her face was undisturbed, as if she were sleeping peacefully, which Sothis would have believed if the blood trickling from her nose and the dirt covering her face didn't exist. The Sword of the Creator laid in her hand, somehow undamaged by the fall.

The pain was immense, that much Sothis knew. She may have missed having a body, but ouch... not like this. She never felt what Byleth felt before. She watched the scrapes, the wounds, and had only shared a headache with her. How could She feel this now... was it because her connection was continuously weaker...?

It dawned on her. Byleth was dying. She was dying, and Sothis was taking over.

No. Nonononono. She refused. She couldn't. This child was meant to live. Not for Her. Not for anyone. But what could She do? It wasn't that She could shout, the only one who could hear Her was not long for this world. She couldn't get up and run, again, different situation, same problem. Ohhh, what to do...?

Well, if She combined with her once, surely She'd have to do it again. That would surely solve things. Sure, Byleth would sleep for... awhile. But what's 100 years or so? Surely her friends would end this war. It had just started, sure, but surely it would end... at some point. Byleth's Blue Lions were strong. How could they not be, the class nearly tripled its size... huh, maybe she was accurate to call claim she was the favorite teacher. And if she's was anyone's favorite, it would surely be that charming prince. The looks exchanged between the two were proof of that. Oooh, She did love to tease Byleth of her little infatuation with Dimitri...

Sothis smiles sadly to Herself. When they combine again, Sothis will truly be gone. There's no hiding away this time. She would cease to exist, to be a simple memory in the minds of all Fodlan...

But She was ready. They needed this coddled child more than Her. She had made peace with this long ago. She smirked.

"Heh, some might say that you're more trouble than your worth... and they're absolutely right," as she spoke, Byleth glowed with a soft, divine light, illuminating the area. Sothis felt Herself fade, feeling the most drowsy She'd ever felt, "but this war torn land will need your guidance one day. Lead them well... but know this. You will sleep for a very, very long time. Your body needs to recover. And the only way... for you to... *yawn*... wake... is for the one who needs you most... to come and awake y-you... w-*yawn* with..."

Sothis' head fell limp as she combined with Byleth for the final time, her mind feeling numb, like she was falling to the deepest of sleep...

"Flayn, I know you're desperate, but this is completely unsafe! We'll come back when it's safer."

"Absolutely not, brother! I owe he Professor my life, it is my duty to make sure she is safe! You may leave, but I will not!"

Seteth grumbled lightly as he followed his... sister into the depths of the canyon. Rhea has disappeared after the battle yesterday, along with Byleth, but Flayn's sharp eyes saw Byleth fall here. Add the fact that Garreg Mach was crawling with Imperial forces, and you've got one dangerous rescue mission that Flayn was determined to complete.

"Flayn, it's not too late to turn back. I too feel like I'm in the Professor's debt, but this is madness! And, however grievous this may sound, the chance they survived is-"

Flayn turned quickly and eyed him with a very serious look, "Do not finish that thought. If it were any other being, I would agree," she turned and continued on her quest, "but the professor is not ordinary. You know this as well Brother."

"*sigh* yes, yes, of course. But at least promise me-"

He was cut off by a glow in a far-ish distance. He and Flayn didn't even give it a second thought as they ran towards it, and why wouldn't they? It's not hard to guess who would give off such a holy light.

It took a bit longer than normal to reach their destination, with tons of rocks (and a couple corpses) littering the way, but it turned out that Flayn's mission was a success when they reached the sleeping Professor. Flayn squealed with a mixture of joy and worry as she ran to Byleth's side, wiping her bloody nose and checking her for serious wounds, but...

"B-brother, I know the professor had a... unique heartbeat, but she is now lacking a pulse as well..."

Seteth shook his head and picked her up bridal style, "Fear not Flayn. I know this looks bad, but she isn't dead. She's in a very deep stasis. Even deeper than the one you were in. Besides," he started backtracking, back through the same secret route they had used to get here, "she breathes. Slowly, but she is breathing. This is the work of the Goddess, no doubt."

Seteth and Flayn brought Byleth back to a cabin, and waited out the Imperial forces. Flayn had healed any minor wounds Byleth had and patched up her clothing, to the point were it seemed she hadn't just gone through a battle. All the while, Flayn watched for even the smallest sign that she would wake. A twitch of an eyelid. The slightest movement of a finger. Something.

But it wasn't meant to be.

Seteth had kept her presence a secret. Not even the Knights of Seiros knew that the professor they searched for was right there. And Seteth knew it had to be this way. If Edelgard found out that the professor everyone looked to for guidance was in her current state, she'd attack once again. No, this was a secret that he and Flayn would have to keep tight lipped... and hidden elsewhere. It would be hard to keep said secret if he traveled with THE secret. And it didn't take him long to know where...

The Imperials had abandoned Garreg Mach after 2 weeks. The Knights of Seiros had disappeared, Claude went to the Alliance, and the Blue Lions scattered, with their leader being arrested by the Empire. Garreg Mach was now home to thieves and other scavengers. However, one of Garreg Mach's best kept secrets was the entrance to the Holy Tomb. No one but he and Rhea knew how to open it. After all, Edelgard was only able to attack when it was opened. And who would think to look for a comatose girl than a tomb?

So, one night, when the thieves who resided there were passed out drunk, Seteth and Flayn made their way to the entrance with relative ease and made the slow descent to what was once Sothis'...

The tomb remained as it always was, a serene holy place. The difference being that by some strange magic, Sothis' throne was replaced by a strange stone altar, which when Byleth was laid on it, fit her perfectly. Seteth was fine with leaving her as is, but Flayn wouldn't have it. She adjusted her clothes to flow on the stone naturally, as well as her hair, so every strand looked perfect. And after placing her hands on her stomach, Flayn was satisfied by her work.

"See Brother? Now she looks like a picture-perfect goddess."

"Lovely. Now, we must leave. She will be safe here, I promise."

"I know...," she turned once more to Byleth, not knowing the next time she could see her face, "sleep well Professor. One day, we will be back, and you will have come back to us. I... we, your entire class, look forward to that day."

On that fateful night, Seteth sealed the Holy Tomb, which now housed a sleeping maiden, with powers to rival the Goddess. No one knew this secret, save for a pair of "siblings"... as well as two other saints, who had long abandoned civilization. They felt their Mother's power flow even more into this maiden, and knew that their Mother was permanently gone. They did not know where she lay, but that she was hidden, somewhere. Waiting to be awoken. And that day would come. The day would come where a random thief would come to steal their relic, and that he wouldn't leave a physical treasure, but a knowledgeable one. That a real treasure lay in wait, one more beautiful than any gem, gold piece, or rare weapon...

But not anytime soon.

Dimitri was chained to the wall of his cell, injured and, somewhat... eyeless on one side. He felt like a feral animal that was locked away, waiting to be put down. He grit his teeth, feeling hopeless and vengeful. Edelgard has gone too far. As if she hadn't already! She... she killed his father... her own mother! And now, she even took his beloved professor away. No, just beloved. She was gone, and now... his father and mother clawed at his skull, demanding her head. Why hadn't he killed her already? Why had he grown to be such a failure? Glenn could've done it by now. He would've tore down the entire Empire, but he died. Died for a boar that couldn't live up to these expectations.

These were the thoughts that tormented him each night, making sleep beyond his reach. And then...

Lambert and Patricia stood above him, hurling their usual insults his way when, but all of a sudden... silence. They suddenly backed away...

And there she was. Wind blowing through her mint hair. Her emerald eyes focused on him. Her boots hardly making a sound as she slowly walked toward him, her face as neutral as always. When she finally reached him, she knelt down to him, to the point that he almost smelled her favorite perfume.

"Dimitri..."

"Prof-." She put her finger to his lips, hushing him.

"Oh Dimitri, I think we're past the formalities. I know how you felt about me, surely you know I felt about you?"

She slowly removed her finger, and Dimitri slowly found his voice again.

"...Byleth... beloved..."

Satisfied, she cupped her hands around his face, slowly hovering above where his eye used to be.

"This... is not your fault. You didn't kill me... Edelgard did. She took your eye, and she took me away from you. It's not your fault... but what will you do about it?"

Dimitri's face become very angry, looking his now lost love in the face.

"I... I WILL remove her head from her shoulders. I will do it in your name. And I will kill anyone who gets in me way. This... this I promise to you beloved."

She smiled at his promise, the one she gave only him. He felt his heart beat at this smile and could've swore he felt a very slight kiss on his lips, waking up his feral side again.

"I'm very glad to hear this. Once her head is gone, we will be able to rest. And then I can wait for you in peace, and when you come back to me, we will be together for eternity," as she said this, she hugged his head, so he could hear her heartbeat, lulling him to his first night of sleep in a long while, "but remember, this can only happen if she dies."

_If you can read this, then you've read the first chapter of my story. (Or you skipped it just to see this. Sooo...)_

_I hope you enjoyed it! This won't be a very long story (I don't have the patience for that) but chapter 2 is coming soon!_


End file.
